Wednesday, November 4, 2015

The Blot doesn’t often promote Kickstarter campaigns, but I’m super excited about one that was recently launched by Circus Posterus, aka Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters! These two visionary creators are taking one of Kathie’s beloved designer toy characters, Calliope Jackalope, and creating a Calliope stop motion animated short about her world. To do this, Kathie and Brandt have teamed up with stop-motion innovator and Annie Awards Special Achievement recipient Martin Meunier (Coraline) and filmmaker Jon Schnepp (The Death of 'Superman Lives’; What Happened?). Sounds awesome so far, right!?!

Calliope is a post-apocalyptic, fantasy adventure stop-motion animated short film about an other-worldly girl who’s unaware that she’s actually Pestilence, one of the four horseman of the apocalypse. If funded, Calliope will be written and co-directed by Olivas, Peters and Meunier, executive produced by Schnepp, and will feature artisans, animators, and fabricators that have worked on stop motion features like The Nightmare Before Christmas. To fund this amazing new 8-10 minute film, Brandt and Kathie are turning to Kickstarter and their fans from around the world to help bring Calliope Jackalope to life.

Kathie and Brandt have put together a fantastic line-up of rewards for backing the Calliope KS project, including a Kickstarter exclusive graphic novel, a handmade Kickstarter exclusive Talking Spirit board and a Kickstarter exclusive oracle deck. But that’s not all! Circus Posterus is also offering rewards such as the production of new vinyl and resin figures, as well as props to be featured in the film. Head over to the Calliope Stop Motion Animated Short Film Kickstart Campaign to find out more and pledge to help make this fantastic film a reality!

Calliope Official Synopsis: Calliope Jackalope is a little girl who’s unaware that she is actually one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. She sets up an oracle stand at the end of the world to give readings to the world’s remaining inhabitants, who are all children. Each card Calliope pulls conjures up an alternate universe based on one of Brandt Peters’ vintage-style underworlds. And then Slap-Happy, Stingy Jack, and the Skelves – characters based on Peters’ popular toys – are unleashed on what remains of the world.